Andy Turner at the ME Store

I've just got home from a great night at the ME store. Big thanks to all those that turned out - also to Peter and all the guys at the ME store for hosting the event and of course Andy for his brilliant lecture. Below are a few pictures from this evening......

ME Store, Deansgate Manchester

The basement before we got underway

Andy "lecturing"

(L-R) Mark Brigham - Marketing Manager Ellis Brigham, Andy Turner and Peter Darch - Store Manager

There will be more lectures/films coming to the store over the coming months; to make sure you don't miss out head over to the ME store facebook page here and sign up for all the latest info.

Dave MacLeod - Within a Move

Were excited to hear that Dave's within a move on his Glen Nevis Project and hopes (weather permitting) to complete in the coming days.

Dave working through the moves of his project yesterday

You can read Dave's full post at his blog here

2011 British Kyashar Expedition

On the 6th April 2011 ME Pro partners Andy Houseman and Nick Bullock head out to the Hinku Valley,Nepal to attempt the first ascent, alpine-style of the 2000m South Pillar of Kyashar (6769m).

Andy sat below Kyashar in 2010 photo: Tony Stone

Andy made an attempt on Kyashar back in October 2010 with fellow climber Tony Stone, however they had to turn back on the ascent as Tony was having difficulties acclimatising. You can view more here where you'll find Andy's full report from that trip.

Nick has also just posted a pre expedition report which you can view here

The guys will be hopefully be sending us updates via satphone from the exped - so make sure you check back for all the latest over the coming weeks.

North 3 - 180 Degrees

Unfortunetly due to some of the worst weather conditions seen in Resoulte Bay for 30 years Ben and the North 3 team have had to pull the plug on this years solo attempt. The worsening conditions meant that the time window Ben had to cross in had become too short and the risks had become too great.

You can read Bens full report at his blog here and below is the latest video from the guys who are currently back in Ottawa waiting to start the long journey back to the UK.

Bens focus now shifts to Antarctica, and his Scott 2012 expedition which starts in October, on the centenary of Captain Scott’s final expedition.... so watch this space!

Andy Turner Lecture - Manchester 31/03/11

ME Pro partner Andy Turner will be lecturing at The Mountain Equipment Store, Deansgate, Manchester on Thursday 31st March'11 at 7pm - so if your in the area make sure you come down and check it out

photo - LWimages

Andy is a regular devotee of the dark art of Scottish Winter climbing. Over the last few years he has accrued an impressive list of ascents, the first ascent of The Secret (VIII,9) in 2008, an amazing 5 day spell in 2009 where he climbed Centurion (3rd ascent), the first winter ascents of Sassenach (IX,9) and Bruised Violet on Beinn Eighe (VIII,8). 2010 saw him completing the second ascent (first clean ascent) of Cracking Up (IX...,9) in Snowdonia, and the first ground up ascent of The Tempest (X,9). Most recently he has ticked off the Dave Macleod test pieces The Cathedral (X,11) and The Hurting (XI,11) in ground-up style. Andy is undoubtedly a class act in this discipline.

Elsewhere in the world Andy’s exploits have seen him narrowly missing out on the summit of Cerro Torre via the Compressor route, turned back one pitch form the top by a storm, making the third ascent of Snotty’s Gully on Phari Lapcha, along with numerous alpine routes including the North Faces of the Matterhorn and Les Droites and just a few weeks ago bagged 2 new routes in Lofoten, Norway.

Andy on - Nothing Compares to you - Lofoten Photo Nick Bullock

Andy came to climbing at the relatively late age of 25 from the world of competitive road cycling where he was racing in the hard competitive arenas of Belgium, France and Holland. During this time saw a fair amount of success but when the falling off and getting ill became too much of a routine he decided to investigate climbing, a sport his father had introduced him to many years earlier.

Andy will be talking about his exploits on the hard testpieces he has climbed in the UK and further afield

Andy Parkin - "Universal Man" Video

Professional photograher Ray Wood has just called to let me know about a great short film that he and Ray Saunders aka 2Rays productions have put together of ME pro partner and artist extraordinaire Andy Parkin working on his amazing "Universal Man" sculpture at LLAMFF last weekend.

Andy at work - photo: Ray Wood

You can view the video and read Ray's article over at the DMM website here

Blood, Sweat and Frozen Tears. (Extreme ledge shuffling on Beinn Eighe.)

A short clip from Nick Bullock and Andy Houseman's trip to Beinn Eighe last Thursday to climb "Blood, Sweat and Frozen Tears"... I'll leave it to Nick and Andy to fill you in on all the details at their blogs : )
Nick's - here & Andy's - here

North 3 - Waiting

Ben and the guys are currently waiting for weather conditions to improve - hopefully there will be a window Monday so they can fly on to the start point. Below are the 2 latest videos from the guys





Keep up with all the latest here

LLAMFF 2011 Preview part 4 - Katie & Tark's

ME Pro partners Katie and Tarka L'Herpiniere will be lecturing at the Canolfan at 10am on Sunday morning so make sure you get down there and check them out!

From the Great Wall of China to Rivers of Ice

In 2007, Tarka L'Herpiniere and his partner Katie-Jane became the first to walk the length of the Great Wall of China from West to East, a journey of more than 3,000 miles (4,300km) which took them 167 days. The expedition took them through rural China and remote, dramatic and inhospitable landscapes. They survived the heat of the Gobi desert and -35C in snowy mountains.

In August 2009 Katie-Jane and Tarka set out on an extraordinary and demanding journey to be the first to traverse the complete length of the Southern Patagonia Ice Cap without the aid of kites or support. Those who have visited Patagonia will know that the wind blows so hard it drops you to your knees and the snow can bury you alive. It is a compelling story of how they trekded along ice fields, river networks and crevasse-laced glaciers. Accomplished speakers, Tarka and Katie-Jane will bring alive the hardships and the dramas of the challenge (their tent failed during a terrifying storm) and give an insight into one of the most beautiful and wild parts of the planet.

More info available at the LLAMFF site here

North 3 - Countdown

We've just had an email in from Andy to let us know that Ben will be dropped (weather dependent) on the Arctic ocean tomorrow afternoon at Cape Discovery on the Canadian coast to start his solo North Pole expedition.

Below is another great video from The North 3 Team as they prepare in Resolute.



For progress and updates head to www.bensaunders.com

LLAMFF 2011 Preview part 3 - Stu and Twid

ME Pro partners Twid Turner and Stu McAleese will be at LLAMFF this weekend make sure you check out the Baffin Big Walls lecture at The Canolfan at 12pm on Sunday 20th


"Baffin Big Walls 2010" Lecture
Mike 'Twid' Turner and Stu McAleese (IFMGA Mountain Guides) climb Big Walls. Between them they have over 30 Expeditions to the greater Ranges. The specialize in climbing in extreme locations, appalling weather conditions and suffering! They will talk about some of their recent first ascents in Alaska, Patagonia and in particular on Baffin Island this year. Their capsule style of Big Wall climbing involves many days living on these huge walls (21 days in one push in Baffin). Twid and Stu teamed up 10 years previously to climb Big Walls. Their first climb 'Off the Wall Bonkers!' a first ascent in the remote Kitchatna Spires in Alaska, resulted in a 15 day lonely wait on a glacier for a light aircraft pick up. Since then they have regularly made first ascents in appalling cold, windy and uncomfortable places. Join the team talking about their climbs, epics and sanity!
Full festival ticket and programme information available here

LLAMFF 2011 Preview part 2 - Andy Turner

Heading to LLAMFF this weekend??? then make sure you check out Mountain Equipment Pro Partner Andy Turner at The Canolfan at 4.15pm on Saturday 19th March'11.

photo: lwimages

"Andy Turner Lecture"

Andy Turner grew up just outside Manchester and didn’t start climbing until he was 25, having been a competitive road cyclist up to that point. Despite being a relative latecomer to the sport he quickly realised that winter climbing was where his talents lay. He is now best know for pushing the limits of onsight Scottish winter climbing including new routes such as The Secret (IX,9) on Ben Nevis and the first winter ascent of Sassenach (IX,9) also on Ben Nevis. In winter 2009/10 he also found time to squeeze a few routes in, in North Wales including the second ascent of Wales’ hardest route Cracking Up (IX, 9).

Andy will be at the festival fresh from another busy winter 10/11 season which has seen him cover everything from repeating amazing routes such as The Hurting (XI, 11) to new routing in Lofoten, Norway just a week ago.

You can read more about Andys latest trips over at his blog here

LLAMFF 2011 Preview part 1 - Keith Partridge

The Llanberis Mountain Film festival 2011 gets underway this Friday 18th March'11. Along side a wide selection of films and lectures you'll be able to catch some of our Pro Partners and Friends such as professional cameraman Keith Partridge

Keith Filming on the Eiger for the BBC

"Life And Times Of An Adventure Cameraman"

Keith Partridge’s ‘office’ is as unusual as his commute. As one of the country’s most experienced adventure cameramen his journey to work may well kick-off with a heart-stopping abseil through vertical jungle, a helicopter winch-line onto an icy mile-high mountain face or a close encounter with some of the world’s most iconic wildlife. With camera in hand he has made the most challenging, spectacular and remote places on the planet his ‘office’ during his freelance career working for the major broadcasting companies including the BBC, Discovery and Channel 4.

This sideways look at the ‘extreme’ will take us on a journey through a variety of projects and extraordinary locations with stories from behind the scenes. In this ‘how did they do that’ presentation we’ll examine just what it takes to capture the essence of adventure from some of the most outrageous situations and camera positions imaginable. This presentation carries a health warning to all those of nervous disposition and sufferers of vertigo.

Keith's lecture takes place at The Canolfan at 7pm on Saturday 19th

tickets and more information available here

North 3 - The place with no dawn

Latest video from Ben and the North 3 Team



Read Ben's full report here

North 3 - London to Ottawa

Latest video update from Ben and The North 3 Team



Keep up to date with all the latest here

Lofoten'11 - Round up

The guys have just got back to the UK after a productive trip out in Lofoten bagging 2 new routes and repeated the swiss route - "Nothing compares to you" despite atrocious conditions as you'll have seen in previous posts.

Nick has just posted a quick round up on his blog here (some pics from which are below)

Pete and Andy after topping out on a new route on Vargerkalen

Andy on pitch one of a new 8 pitch route on Vorgankalen

Lukasz also swung by ME HQ today with a Mac packed full of images and footage so watch this space....

Ben Saunders - North 3

Later this week Mountain Equipment Pro Partner Ben Saunders sets out to reach the Geographic North Pole solo and unsupported, and aims to break the North Pole speed record in the process.



In 2005 a guided team using dog sleds and several air-drops of food reached the Pole in 36 days, 22 hours, and in 2010 a Canadian team reached the Pole on foot in 41 days, 18 hours with one resupply flight. Ben is travelling alone and on foot, and will have no support en route. His start point is Cape Discovery, on the northern coast of Canada, and he will travel using skis and snowshoes, hauling a carbon fibre and kevlar sled containing his food and equipment, and a cutting-edge satellite tracking beacon that will enable real-time position updates as Ben heads north.

We'll have more from Ben over the coming weeks as North 3 gets underway, but you can also keep up to date with all the latest and follow Ben at his website here and his facebook page here

Lofoten'11 - Building steam

Another great clip from Lukasz and the guys up in Lofoten



You can up to date with all the latest from the trip and check back at what the guys have been up to so far at their blogs

Lukasz - http://blog.lwimages.co.uk/

Andy - http://andyturnerclimbing.blogspot.com/

Nick - http://nickbullock-climber.co.uk/

Lofoten '11 - Day in Lofoten Video

We've just had this video clip through from a very excited Lukasz Warzecha. Lukasz is currently out in Lofofen shooting Andy Turner, Nick Bullock and Pete Benson while there on a new routing mission.

If you watch closely you be able to see some of our new Winter'11 product being put to the test



You can keep up with all the latest at Lukasz blog here

‘Call of the White' - Book Launch

Back at the end of 2009 we supported the Kaspersky Lab Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition with clothing and equipment for their expedition training.

The KLCA expedition led by Felicity Aston was a multi-national 8-woman team from Ghana, Jamaica, India, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Cyprus and the UK who skied more than 900km from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole. Most of the women were either the first person or the first woman from their country to ski to the South Pole and yet they were not experienced explorers (some had never seen snow before joining the expedition) but ‘ordinary’ women who wanted to inspire others to follow their dreams or make a change for the better in their lives.



Felicity has written a book about her experiences putting together and training the team as well as their remarkable 40-day journey together in Antarctica. ‘Call of the White: Taking the World to the South Pole’ is published by Summersdale and will be available in bookshops (including Waterstone’s and WHSmith) on Monday 7th March but is already available for pre-order online.
To celebrate the release of the book Felicity will be giving a number of talks about the expedition at free events across the country. Dates include:

Tunbridge Wells – 15th March

Bristol – 23rd March

London – 20th April

London – 12th May

Harrogate – 18th May

Manchester – 19th May

Canterbury – 26th May

Full details are available on www.felicityaston.com